We just returned from an amazing 6-day family trip on the Blaze II with captain Kim and first mate…read moreDesmond. We had a really wonderful experience, sailing, snorkeling, water scootering, paddle boarding and eating to our hearts content. We slept under the stars several nights on the upper deck, (leaving behind our comfortable cabins below). Despite two days of rough weather, captain Kim made sure we were safe at all times and also managed to take us around Lana'i, sightseeing and having a nice dinner on land. We saw big sea turtles, lots of whales and dolphins and lots of colorful fish snorkeling around various reefs. We had the experience of a lifetime and can't recommend this enough.

Complete scam!!! Do Not book this charter, this boat is nothing like the pictures advertised, it is…read morevery outdated, and filthy! March of 2024, we chartered Captain Kim's boat for a week long trip, with the understanding that included in our cost, we would have a private chef on board, a steward, and captain. As well as excursions such as snorkeling, fishing, ATV, hikes to waterfalls, etc. Upon arrival to the boat, we noticed that it did not look like the pictures. It was weathered, and not maintained at all, very dilapidated and dirty. It actually remined us of the movie Captain Ron when we first saw it. We thought to ourselves, what did we just get ourselves into? We were of course taken back by this, but knowing that the fires had just happened a few months before at the dock where the boat was, we wanted to give her a chance and didn't want to start our trip off on a bad foot, bad mistake! As soon we got on the boat, Capt. Kim mentioned that there would not be a chef because they were sick, and that she would be preparing our meals. We had paid an extra $1000/per day for a private chef that did not show, and of course no refund or credit was offered for this. She also told us that her fridge hadn't been working, and that she was storing all the food in coolers on the deck of the boat ( on the 2nd day, we opened the coolers to find mold and warm food). When we went to our cabins, we noticed the smell of sewage, it was so bad that I became nauseated and had to leave the room immediately. The bedrooms and bathrooms were so filthy, that we slept outside for the first 2 nights on the boat (these were the only nights that we stayed on the boat). Day 1 she anchored us on a coral reef, (which I believe she was already under investigation by the State of Hawaii, for doing previously) by the highway, where we stayed the night. The next day she spent most of the morning having our husbands help her pull up an anchor that wasn't working and stuck on coral (she was actually treating our husbands as if they were her hired help). When we finally fixed the anchor, she had to run the grocery store because Captain Kim completely ignored our preference sheet and didn't purchase the items that we paid for and requested. When we got close to the dock, Capt. Kim and her deck boy jumped in the dingy and left us alone on the boat while they ran to the store. I had always thought that a Captain of a boat wasn't allowed to leave their boat during a charter????? When she arrived back, Capt. Kim spent the rest of the day complaining and lying to us, telling us how inconvenient this was for her, that she had "originally gotten what we asked for but for got to pack it", that she "lost the list", etc. and that "we should be happy with what she had for us". Side note, we had paid her a lot of money for this week long charter, that she had no business chartering. (Not to mention scolding us when we questioned her lack of planning and professionalism.) After this ordeal, it was too late to travel to another island, so back to the highway and coral reef we headed, where we spent night 2. So day 3, we were still at the same island, but were able to talk her into moving to the island where she promised a water fall trip by 4 wheelers. When we arrived, she said the 4 wheelers weren't working and that it was too late go to the water fall ( it was maybe 3:00pm and sunny out). At this point we decided to sit her down and talk to her about how disappointed we were and this trip was nothing at all like she advertised, definitely a bait and switch. She started the conversation with "just so you know, there are no refunds!", that "it wasn't her job to entertain us" and then requested that we leave her boat. I would also like to mention that she called me a "crippled person'" and didn't understand why my family would have brought me (I was in a walking boot, far from disabled, either way it was extremely offensive ). So on day 3 out of our 7 day trip, we packed our bags and she actually dropped us at a small boat launch, where she left us. Thankfully there was a very sweet local lady who drove up to us to make sure that we were ok, seeing how it wasn't normal for anyone to be stranded on that boat launch with luggage and no boat. She helped us find our way to the only airport on the island. Luckily we were able to get a flight back to a larger airport, where we were then able to get a flight back to the main island. From the moment we arrived on her boat, she was extremely unprofessional, and treated us like we were a bother to her. In my opinion, she wasn't planning on completing this charter. She did what she could to get us to complain, take our money, and leave us stranded!!! Please learn from our mistake and run as far away from "Captain" Kim (I truly doubt she's a real Captain), she is a scam artist and should be in jail.

Nick at Maui Island Taxi Tour is the best. There's no comparison to Nick's quality, communication,…read moreknowledge and price point for a private tour. I booked the Hale Mahina West Maui Tour for just two of us (30's and 60's), to experience as much of the sights, sounds and tastes of Maui as possible. Nick picked us up at the port, as we had arrived via cruise ship. From the very beginning, his personality and knowledge was an exact match of what we were hoping for. From blowholes to scenic sights to short hikes and even cliff jumping, Nick showed us everything we hoped for and more. A nice touch is Nick packed a cooler of water bottles for us to have along the way. Nick ended our trip by taking us to eat at Geste Shrimp food truck (as well as taking me to Walmart to get new sun glasses since I lost mine). I highly recommend you book your small and private tour of Maui with Nick.

We had an amazing day. There were just the 2 of us with a wheelchair and our driver made everything…read morecompletely doable. He took us to places big buses can't go and gave us an opportunity to learn about Maui from his perspective Definitely a high point of our trip and a wonderful tour of Maui

We had an incredible day on the Hana Highway thanks to Kyle of Sandy Cheeks Tours. It was a private…read moretour with Kyle driving (my husband was so happy) and we saw waterfalls, swam in lagoons, hit up beautiful beaches, ate wild berries, had coconut ice cream from a food truck, had the best poke bowl ever, hung out with turtles, and saw so much of Hana. An amazing adventure day for the whole family! Cannot recommend him enough! Kyle brought drinks, snacks, towels, incredible knowledge, and a wonderful personality. He personalizes the tour to what we wanted to see and we loved talking with all day and listening to his incredible knowledge of Maui. Can't wait to book again with him! It was an absolute highlight of our trip.

When my wife suggested that we hire a driver to take us to Hana, I wasn't sure why we would need…read moreone. Then I started reading online about how windy and narrow the roads were. Combined with the fact that the road to Hana is nicknamed "the Road to divorce", well that made it an easy decision to go along with it. I am so glad I did! Kyle was an amazing tour guide. Not only was he well prepared for the trip with snacks and drinks, the vehicle was extremely comfortable, and he provided a running commentary all along the way of facts and history. Best of all, he stopped at places which people who were driving themselves would never know about. We would literally pass dozens of cars parked on the side of the road only to go down the way about a mile, pull off on some side road, and find an even better more secluded beach to swim. I am so glad we used Sandy Cheeks!!

Great tour in Maui. We saw 3 whales in December and had a great time out on his boat. Very friendly…read moreand helpful with my sister in law who was in an arm sling. Instead of the "sheep" tours where you are thrown on, this has a great feel of a night out on your buddies boat. No commercial money grabbing, just a good guy wanting to share his hobby with you. Definitely recommend!

We recently did a sunset whale watch on the Gung Ho with 6 girlfriends and I cant wait to plan…read moreanother! The captain and first mate were so cool - they let us bring our own wine and cheese / snacks and stowed it in the fridge till we set sail. If you are looking for a private sailing experience for 2-6 people - this is it! They actually SAIL!! And right out of Lahaina harbor - easy to get into the boat as you don't have to get wet like beach launch boats. Go Gung Ho!!

We were lucky enough to spend a day exploring the nature and Birds of Maui with Marla on a birding…read moretour. I was so impressed with Marla on our tour. She was filled with knowledge of the birds which make Maui home, but also of of the history, local plant-life, and other non avian animals you could experience locally. The experience in the van was very comfortable, and our lunch was tasty. We really appreciated how there were food options available for vegetarians as well. Marla was an engaging conversationalist, and to boot she gave us recommendations on other things we could do/eat on the rest of our trip. If you are a bird lover like us, we highly recommend a tour with Explore Maui Nature.

Wendy was an amazing tour guide! She was super experience and knowledgeable - and, importantly for…read morean all-day trip, fun to talk to! There were snacks and drinks galore as well as a delicious lunch. We left with a bunch of recommendations for other places to birdwatch around Maui too. Highly recommend!

** booked the trip through Cruiser Phil's but the storefront says Haleakala Bike Co,, the vans said…read moreBike Maui),This really should have been a fantastic time all around... that said, I did the full ride down years ago, my husband has never. First part was ok. Cory was very chatty and knowledgeable. We stopped to get helmets and jackets ( although the jackets were basically useless and not lined nor kept me warm). Arrived over an hour before sunrise... Cory's part ended and the bike portion started. To not rehash the entire thing, Russ was the leader and although he went over safety rules, he really didn't seem that concerned: big distances between riders, he mixed me up with another rider, chewed me out and told me I wasn't following directions and would not listen to me tell him otherwise;; later he said he couldn't tell us apart and I was the only one not in black/gray; it was a small group of 8 and there was a huge distance between the first two riders; he started off saying that the heaviest people would be the fastest-/ I was the lightest/ smallest and he told me I needed to go faster to catch up; he and the first rider who was a big girl and originally nervous and why she was in front were literally several hundred YARDS ahead of me ( and therefore everyone else); didn't go over speed bump navigation or hand signals until the last stop ( and there were multiple stops); I needed my bike adjusted bc the seat was too low and hurt my knees and he told me it was mostly cruising anyway and ignored my request after I told him I had had 2 knee surgeries.Appeared very condescending to me after the first incident. He also said if the directions aren't followed / he feels a rider is unsafe that he will have them sit in the van and that's the end of their ride---The sad thing was that one of the riders who went down literally less than a minute from the end and was taken away by ambulance..and she was the one he confused with me the very first part and obviously didn't follow his own safety instructions...but even their safety/ 911 protocol was unacceptable-- took them a while to call 911after she went down. Didn't seem like he knew how to handle the situation. Had two of the riders direct traffic using the companies walkie talkies and the batteries died ( aren't they supposed to be fully charged every ride???...)then Russ tells me after that he is certified as a first responder as he takes a 40 hour course yearly. Very pompous and showed no critical decision making skills the entire trip ( I am a physical therapist, 35+ years)....no tip for him. I highly recommend he be fired and welcome the owner to contact me through Yelp. Anthony, the assistant (driver) was very nice and helpful but the scary thing is he said that Russ is their best tour leader :0 Beautiful ride otherwise (5/5) DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY

This is an awesome organization. We did the Haleakala bike…read moretour and this group were awesome. They were organized, professional and very accommodating. Mike our driver very informative. Great guys overall. Our bike tour guide, I can't remember his name was also great. The whole groups are as awesome, I definitely recommend doing this excursion if your visiting Maui.

Kula Treat is a spacious apartment in a private house in the up country of Maui…read moreOn the slopes of Haleakala I don't care for hotels, so when I found Kula Treat it was very fortuitous Kula is not at all a tourist Mecca No traffic and little noise The loudest things were the birds that greeted me in the morning There is a lovely garden with fruit trees and fragrant flowers right out the door The hostess, Pamela is certainly a rare breed She went way out of her way to make me comfortable Suggesting restaurants and activities that would be outstanding in Manhattan, let alone Maui The activities in Maui kept me busy for the whole time I was there I love the place I was never in Hawai'i but I will return There isn't another place on Earth like it When I return, I hope there's room for me at Kula Treat And hopefully, Pamela will have me after putting up with me for so long

We stayed here two nights ago and am back again for one last stay before our vacation is over…read more Pamela is a super nice host and I'm glad my boyfriend found her place online on airbNb. She gave us really good recommendations as to where to eat, where to go, and her place is equipped with a jacuzzi! Like other reviewers mentioned, the bed is very comfortable and soft. It's one of the best beds we slept on on our whole trip ( we stayed in at least 4 places). I really enjoy her backyard with all her flowers and tropical plants. It really made me feel at home. Thank you Pamela, we had a wonderful time in Kula!

Maui Vacation Adventures thanks for your response Candice…read more As you can see, email correspondence with this company is not confidential. If you are planning a vacation months in advance and looking at all your options this might be used against you with this company. Don't give a negative review because it will tie up hours of your time. Candice called me yesterday and we were on the phone for half an hour. If you are international, expect to use long distance charges to call Candice back on her local Hawaii number. Email correspondence is generally responded to quickly until there is an issue. I did get confirmation from Candice's assistant that the refund was not processed due to an internal error. The refund has still not been received.

I had communication on and off with Candice for about a week regarding a surprise romantic little…read moreset up in our condo and possibly additional excursions. Unfortunately some key information was missed during our back and fourth and I was unable to have the plan come to fruition. With that said Candice was super nice and thoughtful while we chatted about details prior and up until the very end. Although it's disappointing to not have the plan worked out I would absolutely reach out to MVA to make plans well in advance next time. Courteous and Friendly are key for sure! I do really appreciate the time she took and it has been noted.